Art to do or not to do? (From A Pocket Full of Poesy)

Who really gives a crap about art, anyway?
The artist slaves away,
All day,
In solitude and self annihilation,
For the hope of some acylation,
Which may or may not eventuate,
It may be after they’re dead, too late.
Writing a poem, song or book,
Painting a picture to hang in a nook.

But art is undervalued
And maybe it should be,
It doesn’t provide survival for me,
Except for our souls, it speaks to a deeper part
Of the human heart.
It should be seen as essential
And a link to the spiritual
Instead of relegated and delegated
To a place of marginalization,
Or condescension
Because it cannot be measure by the money you make,
Or the time it can take,
It cannot be measured in a laboratory,
Or simplified in its glory.

It takes its place in life,
Amidst all our strife,
Never to go away,
Heaven forbid the day,
That we ignore the beauty and vulnerability,
Of artistic expressions,
Or let science, progress or materialism bull doze our inner artistic impressions.

Art, to do or not to do?
What would I have if I didn’t have you?
It’s not really a question that a real artist entertains,
For what else would they do with their brains?
They are wired to create,
Something thought provoking, and hopefully, great,
That can cause people to pause or sigh
Or even to cry,
That can call us deeper into the question of why?
That may simply provide a space to reflect,
In parts that we often neglect,
And allow us enjoyment,
Meaning replacing bewilderment,
Love instead of despair,
Hope, and sometimes, someone to care.
An artist, to be or not to be?
It is not a choice I make, it is who I am-me.

My book in the library...

Hello again,

I haven't blogged for a while, a lot is going on in my life.

My book A Pocket Full of Poesy is now in my local library, in the local author section and in the Non Fiction Poetry section of the shelves in two libraries. It is nice to see my book on the shelves.

I know a lot of people do not respect self publishing and I never did either. It was when I discovered a literary journal who published on lulu.com that I started to look into it further. Then I realised how I could publish work that was not accepted elsewhere and see if people enjoyed reading it as well as feeling like I had accomplished something. I first published my short stories and people really liked them. I also discovered that a number of bookshops (independent) will take books on consignment. These have been all good discoveries to make through this process.

It is a confidence boost to publish your own work. A number of famous authors have self published their books at some point in their careers, some of these include; Margaret Atwood, William Blake, Lord Byron, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, e.e. cummings, W.E.B. DuBois, Alexander Dumas, T.S. Eliot, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Benjamin Franklin, Zane Grey, Thomas Hardy, E. Lynn Harris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, Robinson Jeffers, Spencer Johnson, Stephen King, Rudyard Kipling, Louis L'Amour, D.H. Lawrence, Anais Nin, Thomas Paine, Tom Peters, Edgar Allen Poe, Alexander Pope, Beatrix Potter, Ezra Pound, Marcel Proust, Irma Rombauer, Carl Sandburg, Robert Service, George Bernard Shaw, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Upton Sinclair, Gertrude Stein, William Strunk, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoi, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Virginia Woolf.

I find this heartening. There is a stigma towards self publishing but it does not mean that a writer is not good at their craft, as we can see with the list above. (It does not mean it will be great writing either, I am just saying the format doesn't dictate the quality of the work.)

Having been around the band scene for a long time and having two partners who were in bands and produced their own CDs and sold them, I began to wonder why authors could not try to do the same thing. In the music world on Myspace there are a number of talented musicians who write really good songs and produce and market the cds themselves and sell to a small but devoted fan base. I believe there are some people who self publish who are quality writers. Maybe they haven't found a publisher who wants what they write (JK Rowling took ten years to find a publisher willing to publish her Harry Potter books) why we are so scared to take matters into our own hands?

Self publishing means you can write what you want and if you are serious you will make it the best piece of work possible. The stigma against self publishing is still real and though the standard of self published work can be low, it can also have gems within its range. I simply wanted to move forward in my work and expose it to as many people as possible, through my own means. All I would like to say is don't right people off who publish on the web or who self publish, it does not mean they are good or bad. Read their work and see for yourself.

I would recommend self publishing- it gives an author a sense of accomplishment, whilst you are writing the novel or waiting the many months before you receive the rejection letters. In this process you can achieve something and keep the book forever. Those of us who choose to self publish are in good company shown by the author list above. And for those of us who wish to put our art out into the world and not wait for someone to discover us, self publishing is a perfect and acceptable way to do this.

Everyone creates art so that others can see, read, touch, hear and experience their work. Self publishing for authors is like an exhibition for a painter, maybe someone important will notice your abilities, but even if they don't you will be communicating with people through your work.
The great thing is people will get to read your work which is what we want. I have people who have read my stories and poetry from all over the world and around Australia. Internet story websites are also really good for exposure as well. Anyway, enough of my ranting. Thanks for reading. All the best for your creative endeavours whatever they may be.